Sir Jim Ratcliffe has not written off Chelsea acquisition

2 May 201910:19 AM

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Sir Jim Ratcliffe (on the left) is Britain’s richest man with a personal fortune of £21 billion. He is the founder of the Ineos petrochemicals empire, which specialises in chemicals and oil products and its network spans 24 countries across the world.

Having had a bid rejected last May, Ratcliffe is still interested in buying Chelsea FC.

He is Britain’s richest man and the new owner of Team Ineos, the professional cycling team formerly called Team Sky. But Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s interest in sports does not seem to be over, as he re-opens the door to buying Chelsea FC.

On Wednesday, Ratcliffe was in the Yorkshire Dales, where he launched his Team Ineos, and here he was asked about his interest in Chelsea FC by BBC Sports Editor Dan Roan, to which Ratcliffe replied:

“You never say no, but I don’t know where those conversations will finish.”

Sir Jim Ratcliffe already has a foot in the football world - he bought the Swiss Super League club FC Lausanne-Sport two years ago.

Had a bid rejected

According to The Times, it is understood that Ratcliffe made a bid for Chelsea through intermediaries last May, but the bid was rejected even before he had the chance to sit down with the current owner, Roman Abramovich.

It is believed that Ratcliffe made a bid of about £2 billion. The bid of £2 billion was nowhere near the “asking price” demanded by Roman Abramovich. According to sources, Abramovich wants £4 billion for the London club, but Chelsea insist that the Russian billionaire has no intention of selling.